I remember reading a book about the British Empire during the Victorian era and apparently Toronto and Melbourne were considered 'jewels in the crown' of the empire due to their Victorian grandeur and importance (at this stage I think Melbourne was the capital of Australia). They were little satellites of Mother England on the other side of the world.

How did Toronto grow to such importance anyway? Melbourne was thrust into its glory days by the gold rush - was there some similar export that caused Toronto to boom and construct amazing Victorian buildings? Wasn't the sugar from maple syrup a huge commodity for Canada?

My ignorance about Canadian history is really starting to show....

A very late response to your question, but the catalyst was the American Revolution. United Empire Loyalist flooded into the remaining colonies in America loyal to Britain, or what we know as Canada today. Many people loyal to Britain or uncomfortable in the US resettled in Upper Canada (Ontario) after the United States gained independence. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were the other significant resettlement areas. Toronto became the most important city in Upper Canada and has never looked back.

About 200 years later around 1980, Toronto finally surpassed Montreal to become Canada's principal city. Political problems in Montreal led to a flight of anglophone people and business to Toronto. Montreal has only now recovered from this, but seems to have permanently ceded its dominant position to Toronto.

Throughout most of Canada's history, Montreal was Canada's metropolis not Toronto. Toronto has always been an important city, but its rise to the top has been very recent. If you visit old Montreal, the evidence is everywhere. It's often stated that at one point in time, the powerful families of Montreal's Golden Square Mile controlled one-sixth of north America. Never substantiated, but some pegged their dominance of the Canadian economy upwards of 70%. A staggering concentration of wealth.

* Location: Taft Avenue, Manila
* Completed: 1940
* Architect: Welton Becket, a friend of Hollywood celebrities and designer of the homes of such screen legends as James Cagney and Cesar Romero, as well as of Los Angeles airport
* Style: Art Deco
* Design: The Jai Alai’s sleek, cylindrical glass front was said to evoke the velocity of the game, in which pelotaris use curved scoops to hurl a rubber ball at speeds of up to 200 km an hour against three walls of a court
* Significance: Among the jewels of that period was Taft Avenue, a mini-Champs Elysee, with grand homes, sparkling movie houses, colleges and spectacular Art Deco buildings. One of the finest buildings was the Jai Alai stadium, opened in 1940 as a home for the Basque game of the same name and quickly adopted as a playground by the rich and glamorous.
* Status: Demolition began on July 15, 2000 on the orders of Mayor Lito Atienza